Permit issued for C Hill flag

Reconstruction of the C Hill flag will begin Wednesday after the U.S. Forest Service on Monday approved the newly engineered 67-by-120-foot aluminum design.

“We’re proud to host the flag and excited to be a partner in this,” said Gary Shiff, Carson City USFS district ranger, in approving the permit. “We just needed to cover all the bases.”

They included five concerns for which the C Hill Flag Foundation found suitable solutions — the potential for flying debris from high winds, erosion, hazards for children, the sun’s reflection from the panels and proper flag protocol.

To prevent a flying-debris hazard, the panels, filled with corrugated plastic, will be secured by steel cables to a metal frame on a series of concrete anchor blocks. It will be able to withstand 100 mph winds.

A rock apron will be constructed at the foot of the flag to control water runoff and prevent erosion.

The panels are to be assembled with an uneven surface to prevent people from sliding down the structure. The flag will be on a platform off the ground, and the panels are non-reflective.

Carson City is responsible for long-term maintenance of the flag.

“We are going to pick up the permit tomorrow, and Wednesday prison crews will begin clearing the site and measuring and marking off grids for holes to be dug,” said Carson City Supervisor Robin Williamson, president of the C Hill Flag Foundation. “We’d ask the public to not go up to the site until it’s completed.”

Three-hundred-and-ninety, 4-by-5-foot aluminum panels colored red, white and blue will be produced at a plant in Philadelphia and shipped to Carson City. Stars will be applied once the panels arrive.

“We hope to be finished by Sept. 11,” Williamson said, referring to the anniversary of the terrorist attacks that inspired the original flag.

The total cost of the flag is estimated at $30,000. The panels cost about $75 each. People can donate that amount to purchase one panel and have their names on a plaque near the completed Old Glory.

The original flag, conceived by Carson residents Dan Mooney and Gilbert Ayarbe, was erected above the C in west Carson City shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. High winds last December destroyed the original vinyl flag.